Honoring the Late Marshall Blume, a Groundbreaking Professor in the Wharton Finance Department

Howard Butcher III Professor Emeritus of Financial Management Marshall Blume wears a pinstripe suit; behind him is a tree-lined pathway with lampposts.
The late Howard Butcher III Professor Emeritus of Financial Management Marshall Blume spent 44 years at Wharton, where his name became synonymous with a commitment to rigorous research and supporting his students.

Since the late Howard Butcher III Professor Emeritus of Financial Management Marshall Blume passed away in 2019, Blume’s former students and colleagues have undertaken numerous efforts to toast his legacy. In his 44 years at Wharton, Blume was a respected fixture of the finance department, including serving as department chair from 1982–1986.

Among the efforts to honor his memory after Blume’s passing was one spearheaded by Joseph P. Wargrove Professor of Finance Craig MacKinlay, who took over Blume’s seat on the board of the Benjamin and Mary Siddons Measey Foundation when he passed. “We had conversations as board members, and we were talking about how valuable Marshall had been,” says MacKinlay. “Marshall liked doing research with undergrads, so what we thought we could do is create a course.”

The Measey Foundation’s $750,000 commitment will establish the Measey Foundation Marshall Blume Undergraduate Research Fellowship program. Starting this fall, Measey Fellows will participate in a new course in finance research designed to provide them with hands-on experience and insight into faculty research. The Foundation’s gift will also support co-curricular activities related to the course.

“My colleague Marshall Blume was a pioneer in finance, and his contributions to the field continue to be used by practitioners everywhere,” says Howard Butcher III Professor of Financial Management and Senior Vice Dean of Research, Centers, and Academic Initiatives Joao Gomes, who worked with MacKinlay to develop the idea for the course. “But to us, his colleagues and students, he was above all a generous mentor and a gifted leader, who played a key role in shaping one of the greatest finance departments in the world.”

Russell E. Palmer Professor Emeritus of Finance Jeremy Siegel shares a similar sentiment about Blume’s legacy. “Marshall Blume not only made significant contributions to the theory of finance and practice of investing, but also urged both academics and professionals to utilize the highest ethical standards,” says Siegel.